Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts 1)

I smiled wickedly. “None of your business, man. A gentleman never tells.”

His eyes widened in awe. “Screw that, you’re not a gentleman! We always share details,” he whined.

I laughed and shook my head. “Not this time. She’s not some one night stand, Nate; she wouldn’t want me to say anything.”

I said goodnight to Nate and slunk my way back to the bedroom. I looked at her sleeping form for a few minutes, feeling the love simmer inside me. I sighed and flicked off the light, pulling my boxers back off. I figured that if she was sleeping naked, then I could too. I climbed in the bed next to her, and she instantly shifted in her sleep so I could wrap my arms around her.

“Mmm,” she mumbled as she snuggled into my chest.

“I love you,” I whispered, knowing she was asleep. I quite often told her when she was asleep; saying it out loud made me feel better.

“Mmm. Love you too,” she murmured, tightening her arms around me.

My heart stopped. What the… did she just say that to me? I shifted so I could look at her, she was definitely asleep. “Anna, are you talking to me?” I asked quietly.

She didn’t answer, she was sound asleep.

I sighed and closed my eyes. All I could think about was those three little words she had said. Love you too. They sounded incredible in her voice, and I would kill to hear them again. My heart was trying to escape out of my chest, and my stomach was clenched up tight. She wouldn’t have been talking to me though, I was being stupid, she was probably dreaming about Jack or something. Disappointment washed over me, killing my happy mood and making me feel slightly nauseous. I sighed and kissed her forehead, snuggling into her warm naked body, making the most of my time with the most perfect girl in the world.

Chapter Twenty-Six

When I woke in the morning, my eyes still stung with tiredness. It had taken me hours to fall into slumber because I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said while she was asleep. A quick glance at the clock showed me that it was almost ten in the morning. I decided that I needed to wake her. We only had a few hours left before we needed to head out to the airport, and I wanted to spend some more time with her here. It felt different being just the two of us here with no other guards; it was more like we were a real couple. Of course, I had still been extremely vigilant and doing my job as well as I would normally, but I didn’t want to leave here and go back to the reality of being just her bodyguard and nothing more. I’d had a taste of what it would truly be like now, and I wanted it so badly that I would do anything for it.

“Baby Girl, it’s time to wake up,” I whispered, reluctantly untangling my body from hers and moving my hips back so that she wouldn’t notice my inappropriate morning glory.

She stirred and snuggled back into my embrace. “Mmm, I’m still tired,” she mumbled, kissing my shoulder.

“We’d better get up, it’s almost ten. We need to pack and stuff.”

She pulled the pillow out from under her head and hit me with it. “Shh, still tired!”

I laughed as she pressed the pillow over her face, blocking out the light. “Want another half an hour then?” I offered.

“Mmm hmm,” she confirmed, rolling to put her head on my chest. “Wait, why the hell am I naked?” she asked quietly, a couple of seconds later.

Oh my God. Was she drunk last night? Shit! Did I take advantage of her? “Anna, I thought… we… you… we were,” I stuttered, lost for words.

She laughed and pinched my stomach playfully. “I’m just kidding, I won’t be forgetting last night in a hurry.”

My body relaxed as I shook my head in reprimand. “Damn it, that wasn’t funny! I thought I’d taken advantage of you or something.”

She giggled. “You were the one in handcuffs, so I’d say I took advantage of you.”

I laughed and trailed my hands down her back, savouring the feel of her skin against mine as I looked at her hopefully. “So, last night was a one off again then? Nothing’s changed?”

She bit her lip and squirmed uncomfortably. “Ashton, nothing can change. I thought we agreed.” She swallowed loudly. “We both got something out of it, didn’t we?” She frowned nervously as her fingers traced patterns on my stomach.

I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, we both got something out of it. It’s fine. Forget I said anything. From now on then, we’re back to normal. What happens in LA stays in LA, yeah?” I suggested jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. I’d made her happy, I’d given her what she wanted, so I’d just have to live with it and be thankful that I had my time with her. I could wait until she was ready; she was letting me closer and closer with every day. I still had time to make her fall for me before the end of my assignment.

“Yeah, and I loved LA,” she flirted.

That sounded so much like the words from last night that my insides squirmed. “I loved LA too.” I loved it more than I could ever tell her. “So, what were you dreaming about last night?” I probed, trying to go for the casual approach in finding out if she’d been talking to me when she said those three little words.

She shrugged and pushed herself up to a sitting position, holding the sheets to her chest. “No idea, why?”

“You were talking in your sleep,” I explained.

She raised one eyebrow inquisitively. “Really? What did I say?”

“You said something about Jack,” I lied. “Were you dreaming about him?” I asked, hoping to be able to get the answer I wanted without having to ask outright.